Forget 5G – 10Gbps WiFi is coming next year

The 5Mbps, 10Mbps or even 20Mbps download speeds we see now are fast, and the 5G data speeds we have been promised down the road are even more impressive. But wait until you hear about the next big advancement in WiFi technology. WiFi is already much faster than any current-generation cellular network will ever be, of course, but the wireless standard’s limited range is a big barrier to its utility outside of homes and offices. In 2015, however, we can now look forward to WiFi that is exponentially faster than current networks and also has a much further range.

Quantenna Communications announced earlier this week that it will launch a new chipset next year that facilitates what it calls “10G Wi-Fi.” According to the company, this new solution will support data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps and will have much further range than current widely used WiFi standards.

“Quantenna’s 8×8 architecture with adaptive beamforming demonstrates that the ‘massive MIMO’ promise of significantly higher throughput, robustness, and reduced interference can be realized in practice,”Stanford professor of electrical engineering Andrea Goldsmith said of Quantenna’s new tech. “This architecture will also significantly enhance the capabilities of MU-MIMO, allowing it to support interference-free transmission to many more devices simultaneously. These technology advances will transform the landscape of applications and devices that Wi-Fi can support. As we move into an era of exponentially-growing video usage and the Internet of Things, the 8×8 architecture and MU-MIMO technologies will become essential in all high-performance Wi-Fi devices.”

The company noted that it already supplies WiFi network hardware to companies including AT&T, DIRECTV, Swisscom, Telefonica, France Telecom and Belgacom, so it’s possible that we’ll see this new tech begin to roll out shortly after it becomes available to commercial partners.